By Rich Patterson

Dave Novak and I each clipped a few minutes off quitting time, left work, and headed south from our Cedar Rapids homes. We'd planned to spend the evening fishing for bluegills in one of Shimek State Forest's many ponds.

Lying a few miles north of the Missouri border, the ponds are tucked into some of Iowa's most gorgeous wild areas, so we knew we'd enjoy the scenery. But we also hoped that we'd tie into some of the best bluegill angling in Iowa - and we weren't disappointed.

I gently paddled the canoe along the face of the earthen dam as Dave dropped a small garden worm down about a dozen feet. Within minutes his ultralight rod arched as a husky fish tested the 2-pound-test mono. Gradually, Dave worked the lunker bluegill up to the net; it was a genuine 10-incher. Before darkness forced us in to set up our tent and build a campfire at a nearby campground, we caught a half-dozen more of those that evening.

According to Iowa Department of Natural Resources fisheries biologist Steve Waters (for whom bluegills are all-time favorite fishes), the key to finding outstanding bluegill fishing is locating good water quality. "Iowa's very best bluegill lakes tend to have small watersheds relative to lake size," he explained. "They have steep banks and not a lot of row crops in their drainage. All this tends to keep silt out of the water and makes for great bluegill fishing." Many of the newer IDNR lakes were built in vegetated basins with silt ponds upstream to catch nutrients, thus creating optimal fishing conditions for many species of panfish and game fish.

The Shimek SF pond fits Waters' model with impressive exactitude. Its small drainage is entirely forested, and its water is as clear as you can find in Iowa - clear enough, actually, to make its picky 'gills a bit line-shy. Accordingly, Dave's nearly invisible 2-pound-test line outfishes heavier line.

Photo by Ron Sinfelt

Waters believes that well-considered management methods are also important for fostering topnotch bluegill fishing. "We don't stock bluegills willy-nilly into a new lake," he said, "but have learned that we need to stock 500 to 1,000 fish per acre for best results. Deviating much from this stocking rate can lead to poor bluegill populations and fishing."

Another key factor that tends to produce good bluegill fishing is an adequate supply of predators - which, in Iowa, usually means largemouth bass. Although it might seem strange that a bluegill population's health depends in great part on having some of its members eaten from time to time by lots of bigger fish, the tasty panfish usually spawn so many offspring that they need their ranks thinned in order to let the survivors grow more freely.

A good example is Lake Wapello. Several years ago the IDNR renovated the lake, installed sediment basins and instituted a no-kill regulation on bass. "This no-kill regulation has helped create a wonderful bluegill fishery in the lake," said Waters.

All things being equal, bluegills tend to do best in smaller bodies of water that have lots of shoreline; farm ponds are ideal. But there are exceptions to the small-lake rule - like, for instance, giant Lake Okoboji in northwest Iowa, which has fine water quality and a huge stretch of shoreline and thus provides noteworthy bluegill fishing, even though it's really big.

If you're looking for great bluegill fishing, avoid Iowa's large flood-control reservoirs. "Big reservoirs like Rathbun are windswept." Waters said. "Waves often destroy bluegill nests, and the water is usually turbid. Also, reservoirs experience great fluctuations in water levels. None of these factors are good for bluegills, so you just don't find many in these big lakes."

With the exception of some significant Mississippi River backwaters, big rivers also have limited appeal for bluegills. They shun current, and Iowa's rivers generally lack backwaters that have water clear enough to be attractive to them.

There's one final factor to consider when predicting whether a given lake will be a great bluegill producer. Bluegills and gizzard shad don't get along well, probably because shad forage on the same microscopic animals that bluegills relish. Shad are cyclical, and often a lake's bluegill population will cycle depending on shad abundance. When shad are numerous, bluegills are rare. "I'd hang my hat on shad as the reason why bluegill fishing fluctuates at Pleasant Creek Lake and Lake Macbride," said Waters.

Carp also have an effect on bluegills, as they churn up mud and create intolerable conditions for the panfish. "Red Haw Lake had great bluegill angling because of its good water quality and large bass population," Waters noted, "but carp got the upper hand and damaged the environment for both bass and 'gills."

Iowa has so many tremendous bluegill waters that it's impossible to list them all. Any angler familiar with the conditions that bluegills favor can find a great fishing place close to home: Simply stick to clear-water ponds and lakes with few carp or shad and abundant bass, and having extensive shorelines, and bluegills will be there. IDNR fisheries biologists, the indispensable source of up-to-date fishing information, have so many promising bluegill waters under their supervision that it's difficult for them to narrow any recommendations down to the very best fishing in their quadrants; they'll probably respond instead with a long list of public lakes and ponds. A few of their favorites follow.

Probably one of the most productive bluegill lakes in Waters' region is Lake Sugema. Here, the IDNR has constructed several jetties and an accessible pier to accommodate bank-anglers. A small boat helps reach thousands of very serviceable bluegill fishing spots on this relatively new lake. Much of its water is clogged with drowned trees and brush, so I've found canoes to be ideal for squeezing through all the wood to reach bluegill honeyholes.

On the north side of Sugema are two silt ponds - Piper's Pond and Lake Miss - that also hold solid bluegill populations.

The Shimek SF ponds, each about 5 acres, are also in Waters' area. One has a new pier that helps anglers with disabilities reach the fishing. Bank-anglers can fish all the ponds from the dam, but a small boat will help get to fish in thick cover along the brushy shorelines. Bluegills in these ponds tend to be a little fickle, but grow to lunker size.

Lake Macbride in Johnson County is a sleeper bluegill lake. Several years ago it was in decline as a consequence of turbid water and a high shad population. A few years ago, a massive lake renovation project added silt traps, improving the water quality greatly and suppressing the shad population markedly. The bluegills immediately responded.

Most of Macbride's anglers fish in coves along a walking trail that extends from the swimming beach to the dam. Last year, I found far better fishing in the north arm of the lake and caught many impressive bluegills from reedy areas near shore. Jetties give bank-anglers access, but I prefer fishing from my rowboat or canoe. Although the north arm is productive, few people fish it. Bank-anglers also do well fishing off the causeway on the south arm.

"Although Lake Macbride is one of Eastern Iowa's better known fishing lakes, it's a real bluegill sleeper," said Steve Krotz, fishing manager at the Cedar Rapids Fin and Feather Store. "The fish are coming on strong, and it should be very productive this year." Krotz also feels that the small lakes in county parks will yield very well this year.